Kexi - Data(base) Environment - Introduction to universal data layer for KDE

Speaker: Jaroslaw Staniek

Kexi has been originally developed as a standalone, native KDE replacement for MS Access or Filemaker database creation applications. Increasingly modularized, it is now plugin-based environment: a relatively small and coherent graphical shell surrounded by a number of components like Table, Query and Form GUI Designer. Kexi's database access layer, codenamed KexiDB, has been developed as a high-level library, surrounded by a set of rich data-aware widgets like form and tabular views.

KDE has always promoted sharing high-level facilities between applications, e.g. KParts, KTextEditor and KHTML/KJS interfaces. We demonstrate a few proposals on how application developer can reuse Kexi components to easier model their data and move to database as a relational storage medium. Quick comparison to other data access frameworks is provided. Some discussion follows to present possibilities and advantages of switching from custom storage medium to a relational database medium. Plans for incoming development within KDE4 are outlined.

The talk is a sequel of the Malaga talk.

Jaroslaw Staniek

Jaroslaw Staniek received the MCS degree from the Warsaw University, Poland. Since 1998 he develops multiplatform applications (frontend and backend; Linux, Windows and some Mac) using C++ and Trolltech's Qt. He works at OpenOffice Polska, a company that offers prepackaged software in Polish and English-Speaking customers, with fine localization, addons and commercial support services (actually, mainly OpenOfficePL and Kexi).

In 2003 he initiated contributions for the K Desktop Environment with a goal of boosting its adoption (including commercial) on Unix and non-Unix platforms like MS Windows, thus starting KDElibs for Windows project (formerly Qt-KDE Wrapper).

Large part of his full-time job is maintenance and core development of the Kexi Project, environment for integrated data management (a database component of KOffice), aimed at delivering multiplatform Open Source competitor for products like Microsoft Access.

Jaroslaw lives in Warsaw with his wife and son. In rare time when he does not sit at a computer, he is fond of biking, travelling and drawing random things.

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Slides (PDF) (627K)
Slides (ODP) (1M)
Video (Ogg) (169M)